Football Tour starts July 21st

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Football Tour starts July 21st

FAU to Begin Owl Tour in Port St. LucieFans will have the opportunity to meet FAU Head Coaches as well as Coach Schnellenberger

July 14, 2005

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University head football coach Howard Schnellenberger will kick off the 2005 Owl Tour at Duffy's Sports Grill on Thursday, July 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. Guests may enjoy free appetizers and drink specials, hear from Coach Schnellenberger and join in the excitement as the Owls begin preparation for the 2005 football season.

Four events are scheduled for football preseason and the Owl Tour and all are hosted in conjunction with the Florida Atlantic Athletics Department and the FAU National Alumni Association. The Owl Tour is a four city excursion that reaches out to the seven FAU campuses but, it is also open to the general public.

"By partnering with the Port St. Lucie, Jupiter and Broward campuses, we're making a strong effort to reach out to FAU students, alumni and constituents," said Terry Mohajir, FAU's Associate Director for Athletic Development. "This Tour will give us an opportunity to communicate the exciting transformation of the university and football program. Due to the excitement level of our athletics program, we're expecting great attendance at every tour stop."

Football Tour starts July 21st

PORT ST. LUCIE ? The guy who looks a lot like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz has some magic to perform this season.

Florida Atlantic University football coach Howard Schnellenberger helped gain some respect for his four-year-old program thanks to a 20-6 performance over the past two years.

But now he must tackle a grueling Division I schedule using a depleted squad on an off-campus field. Three televised games and the Owls' first full year of NCAA Division I-A action will demand the best from the young Owls.

Schnellenberger began marketing the 2005 version of the Owls on Thursday night at Duffy's Sports Grill in Port St. Lucie, speaking to an audience of FAU fans. It was the first of four stops for the Florida Hall of Fame coach.

"If you're going to spread the gospel of Florida Atlantic University, you will have success at the box office," he said.

Schnellenberger knows what it will take to repeat the successful three-loss seasons of the past two years. He said he and the Owls are "destined to have to play over our heads."

Teams scheduled this year ? including Oklahoma State, Louisville and Kansas ? are the most formidable programs the Owls have faced. FAU will have to play these opponents with only 25 returning upperclassmen.

"It will be hard to get back to where we were playing teams that have been playing for hundreds of years," he said.

Fans, however, appeared eager for the challenge. Even Port St. Lucie police Sgt. Bill Vega took a short break from his shift to have a friend fetch an autograph from Schnellenberger. Vega attended games last year with his family.

FAU basketball season-ticket holder Ted Lukacs of Stuart said he would consider adding football games to his trips south if the school reaches its goal to build a combination basketball-football dome.

Last year, FAU was not bowl-eligible. If the Owls sell 60,000 tickets, averaging 15,000 for each of their four home games this season, they will become bowl eligible as well as a candidate to win the Sun Belt Conference.

The Owls' biggest home game, against Oklahoma State, will be held at Dolphins Stadium on Sept. 8.

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Football Tour starts July 21st

"Last year, FAU was not bowl-eligible. If the Owls sell 60,000 tickets, averaging 15,000 for each of their four home games this season, they will become bowl eligible as well as a candidate to win the Sun Belt Conference."

I must have slept through the revised attendance agenda? I don't remember this one.Anyone?

The article:Imagine that. Fans of FAU really exist.. :o Where are the naysayer reporters on this article? O wait..they're waiting for the tour to reach Boca. Then they'll catch the same 3 FAU non-football students to get their response and quotes. Or the drunk guy at the end of the bar who wasn't even listening.

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Football Tour starts July 21st

O.G., was this in the newspaper? I see that the author's email is @scripps.com, does she have something to do with that huge facility they are putting up there in okechobee (or wherever it is)?I suppose once that thing is built and the thousands of families that move there for work arrive, we could try and get a fan base out of them!

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Football Tour starts July 21st

The Scripps she works for is Scripps Howard News Service, which owns such newspapers as The Stuart News, the Vero Beach Press-Journal and the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. They would care about football.

The Scripps Research Institute is a private, non-profit research organization engaged in basic biomedical science. They probably don't know a football from a mothball.